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Christian in Business, Press the Pause"

THE CHRISTIAN IN BUSINESS

Pressing the Pause

July 27, 2008

Text: Phil 3:17-4:1; 4:4-9

Phil 3:17-4:1; 4:4-9

17 Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. 18 For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. 19 Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21 He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.

4:1 Therefore, my brothers and sisters…

4 …Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

During my sermon retreat each fall, I walk a labyrinth twice a day. A labyrinth is a circular path marked by stones, and it’s a wonderful spiritual exercise. It is a great way of quieting the mind, and listening to silence.

Usually.

Last fall, something interesting happened.

To understand what happened, you need to know my personality type.

My personality somewhat resembles that of a research scientist.

What does a research scientist do? Focuses her/his attention on a problem, and doesn’t let it go until it’s solved. A good scientist will analyze a problem, gather information, run experiments, and collaborate with other scientists.

This is a good quality to have, right? You get things done, and you get them done in a thorough way, with high attention to quality.

BUT, there’s a problem with this personality strength.

It’s the weakness I found as I began the labyrinth walk.

There had been some problem I was pondering as I started the labyrinth. Questions rolled over in my mind:

And I couldn’t shake these questions. If you’re a research scientist, YOU HAVE A DIFFICULT TIME GETTING THE PROBLEM OUT OF YOUR HEAD. You’ll stew over it until it’s solved, and even then you won’t let go of it—you’ll ask, “Did I come up with the right solution?”

It’s like there’s a CD playing in your mind.

THAT’S WHAT I WAS HEARING AS I BEGAN THE WALK IN THE LABYRINTH. THE NOISE WAS CONSTANT. THEN, OUT OF NOWHERE, A BIBLE VERSE CAME TO MIND. HEARING THAT VERSE, THE NOISE SUDDENLY STOPPED. HERE’S WHAT JESUS SAID TO ME:

“Do not worry about tomorrow.” [Luke 12:22]

That verse made me press the pause button on that CD. It caught me, and made me look at the bigger picture. If I allow myself to continue analyzing and thinking, then I never will have any peace, will I? The ability to analyze is very good—BUT YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHEN TO STOP ANALYZING, AND START RELAXING. Enjoy the feel of the breeze, the song of the birds, the color of the flowers as you begin your walk in the labyrinth.

When we lead—whether it’s in the office, home, school, church—we naturally lead with the strengths of our personality type. Everyone here has been graced with strengths that are invaluable.

But the lesson from the labyrinth is this: ANY STRENGTH OVERUSED BECOMES A WEAKNESS.

If you’re the scientist type and you’re leading a group of people, you have to know when to relax. Trust the work you’ve done. Trust others to do their work. Lighten up. Move on.

YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHEN TO PRESS THE PAUSE.

Jesus certainly spoke to the scientist in me. “Do not worry.”

However, Jesus would have helped Paul press the pause with different words.

Paul’s personality type was more like that of a general.

He was a goal-driven, take charge type of individual. He lived for challenges. He had been politically ambitious before he became a Christian. After he was converted, he became ambitious for Jesus; his favorite phrase was, “Woe to me if I don’t preach the Gospel!” [1 Cor. 9:16]

If you wanted someone to organize and start churches, in the midst of opposition, Paul’s your man. He was inspired by opposition, actually; he thrived on it. He was a true leader, and people looked up to him.

However, any strength overused becomes a weakness, remember?

Listen to this section of today’s passage, and see if you can’t discover what Paul’s weakness was:

Many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things.

Paul’s weakness was anger. When people disagreed with him on key issues or opposed him, he felt his blood pressure rising. Heated words came out. Relationships fractured.

I like to imagine, though, that Paul had good self-knowledge. He knew when his temper started rising, so he pressed the pause. Maybe remembering these words of Jesus helped him press the pause button:

“A new commandment I give you—that you love one another.” [John 13:34]

Maybe he heard Jesus’ voice as he was writing today’s passage. He pressed the pause, and instead of spiraling down in anger, he shifted gears, shifted tone. He wrote some beautiful words: [read]

…Rejoice in the Lord always…Let your gentleness be known to everyone…and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

By pressing the pause, he turned his mind from goals to people, from plans to relationships, from impatience to patience. Only because he pressed the pause could he write that famous passage in his letter to the Corinthians: “Love is patient, kind, not jealous or boastful, not arrogant or rude, does not insist on its own way.”

God bless you if you’re the general type. We need generals, just as we need scientists. And God bless you for the grace to know when to stop leading and directing, and to simply enjoy people.

Well, maybe we haven’t hit your personality type yet. Let’s see if you’re more a…

…comedian.

A comedian is someone who’s the life of the party. Out-going, fun-loving, warm. A people person. They lead by getting people together, motivating them, and having a good time in the process. They show love easily, and they want to be loved.

Peter shared this personality type. He is always the first one to speak. He wants to join Jesus when Jesus walks on the water. He is the first to say that Jesus is the Son of God. And he’s the first to say that he wouldn’t deny Jesus when crunch time came.

Ironically, he did deny Jesus. That’s because sometimes comedians may have a difficult time facing criticism and pressure. That’s why Peter could shift from “I’ll never deny you, Lord” [when skies were blue] to “I don’t know that man Jesus” [when night fell and Jesus’ enemies were out].

If you lead by motivating good people by having good times, it’ll be difficult making tough decision in tough times.

That’s why it’s important for comedians to press the pause button.

Listen to Jesus:

“Blessed are those persecuted for righteousness’ sake.” [Matt. 5:10]

Leadership sometimes calls for taking a stand, at the risk of looking bad and losing affection. Leadership calls for being willing to pay the price for the commitment you’ve made—and that price may be feeling rejected by some.

God bless you if you’re a comedian. We need comedians, just as we need scientists and generals. And God bless you for the grace to know when to risk frowns for the sake of a higher cause.

Well, if you notice, there’s one block still open on the screen.

Some studies show that perhaps as many as 70% of people share at least part of the final personality type.

70% of you may be…

counselors.

A counselor is one who listens unconditionally. They nod at the right time, and make helpful comments. You know they’re on your side, believing in you. A good counselor presents is your best friend, because he/she is genuinely a people-person.

Andrew, Peter’s brother, is a good example of a counselor. He was in the background, compared to his out-going sibling. He seemed to be connected to people in a deeper way. In John’s Gospel you see that he quietly introduced his brother to Jesus [1:40-41], he introduced a boy with a few fish and loaves of bread to Jesus [6:8], and he introduced a curious group of Gentiles to Jesus [12:22].

And this is all we know about Andrew.

That’s because he was content to stay in the background. Jesus no doubt relied on him to do important tasks, because Jesus knew that he could depend on Andrew to do a good job.

If Andrew were alive today, he’d be a wonderful, reliable committee member. He wouldn’t, though, volunteer too often to chair a committee. That’s because background work is more comfortable for him. Don’t take the lead, but follow a trusted leader.

If Andrew were to find himself in a leadership role, he may feel most comfortable keeping things the way they were for as long as possible—preferably until his term expired! If he and his committee were facing a critical issue, they’d want to take a long time in exploring all options, then come up with a solution that would make as few waves as possible.

However, leadership may demand shaking things up, and shaking them up sooner than later.

That’s why the pause button has to be pressed:

“Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.” [Mt. 16:24]

It’s difficult to deny the safety of “this is the way we’ve always done things.” It’s difficult to deny the safety of staying in the background and not speaking up or taking a controversial stand.

But Jesus reminds us that there are causes worth going to the cross for. And when such a cause calls you, you have to stand up and be counted.

God bless you if you’re a counselor. We need counselors, like we need scientists and generals and comedians. And God bless you when you have the grace to say, as Martin Luther once said, “Here I stand, I can do no other.”

So—who ARE you? I hope you can place yourself more or less into one of these squares. Regardless of which one you’re in, though, God celebrates your strength, and challenges you to move past your weakness: the weakness of overusing that strength.

When you and I can do that, then maybe we’ll come close to imitating that amazing man Paul. He could say, humbly and without hesitation:

“I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some.” (1 Corinthians 9:22)

May God give us the grace, to do the same.